Backyard Bird Watchers

#283
#283
I have a robin nest in the crook above where my downspout comes out of the gutter. It has at least 3 baby robins that I can see poking their heads up. The nest is about 18 feet off the ground. When they finally fall out of the nest is that fall going to kill them? Would it help if I pile up some grass clippings underneath to cushion the fall? Seems like a dumb place to build a nest. I have numerous shrubs around the house and my property is bordered by many trees and a lot of brush. I would have thought they'd pick something a little closer to the ground. I don't know - maybe they bounce better than I thought.
 
#284
#284
larjoranj said:
I have a robin nest in the crook above where my downspout comes out of the gutter. It has at least 3 baby robins that I can see poking their heads up. The nest is about 18 feet off the ground. When they finally fall out of the nest is that fall going to kill them? Would it help if I pile up some grass clippings underneath to cushion the fall? Seems like a dumb place to build a nest. I have numerous shrubs around the house and my property is bordered by many trees and a lot of brush. I would have thought they'd pick something a little closer to the ground. I don't know - maybe they bounce better than I thought.
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We had pretty much the same thing. All three fledged and wobbled their ways off to robin-hood. (Har har har.) But during the whole process, I wrestled with the same worries.

I finally decided that if one fell out and survived, my picking it up and putting it back in the best would probably cause it to be rejected and (ironically) kicked back out of the nest, so I decided to go into ostrich mode, and it all worked out.

I’m terribly tender-hearted, and this wasn’t easy, but taking the long view, the survival of the species, even American robins, means letting nature take its course. *wrings hands*

I’m hoping that more dispassionate posters will have more useful guidance.
 
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#285
#285
VolNExile said:
We had pretty much the same thing. All three fledged and wobbled their ways off to robin-hood. (Har har har.) But during the whole process, I wrestled with the same worries.

I finally decided that if one fell out and survived, my picking it up and putting it back in the best would probably cause it to be rejected and (ironically) kicked back out of the nest, so I decided to go into ostrich mode, and it all worked out.

I’m terribly tender-hearted, and this wasn’t easy, but taking the long view, the survival of the species, even American robins, means letting nature take its course. *wrings hands*

I’m hoping that more dispassionate posters will have more useful guidance.
Click to expand...
Went to the Bronx Zoo the other day. For every 100 robin eggs, 10 make it adulthood.
 
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#286
#286
larjoranj said:
I have a robin nest in the crook above where my downspout comes out of the gutter. It has at least 3 baby robins that I can see poking their heads up. The nest is about 18 feet off the ground. When they finally fall out of the nest is that fall going to kill them? Would it help if I pile up some grass clippings underneath to cushion the fall? Seems like a dumb place to build a nest. I have numerous shrubs around the house and my property is bordered by many trees and a lot of brush. I would have thought they'd pick something a little closer to the ground. I don't know - maybe they bounce better than I thought.
Click to expand...
My neighbors have a robins’ nest on their high downspout just as you do. The first brood fledged, and the little flappers made it to ground without dying. Comical sight, though. Each of them wound up underneath the Leyland Cypress (parent was there). I’ve no idea who lived after that. The mother bird is back on the nest. Brood #2, methinks.

Edit: About three weeks from fledglings out to new eggs.
 
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#288
#288
Tin Man said:
My neighbors have a robins’ nest on their high downspout just as you do. The first brood fledged, and the little flappers made it to ground without dying. Comical sight, though. Each of them wound up underneath the Leyland Cypress (parent was there). I’ve no idea who lived after that. The mother bird is back on the nest. Brood #2, methinks.

Edit: About three weeks from fledglings out to new eggs.
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Bad news. My 3 robins left the nest today. I did not see the first 2 jump but I went outside and could see that 2 were gone from the nest. 1 was hopping around on the ground near the house with mom swooping down on me if I got near. I never saw the second - not sure where it went. The third fluttered down while I was there watching. I had been worried that a drop from 18 feet would hurt them but it flapped furiously as it came down and actually glided about 40 feet before landing. It then hopped very quickly into some nearby underbrush. So the getting down part is apparently no big deal. The bad part is after reaching the ground. The 1 that stayed in the yard hopping around with mom seemed to be the smallest. My wife and I watched for about 30 minutes then she went inside and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. She called me while I was out and said 3 crows had swooped down on the 1 still in the back yard and tore it to pieces. When I got home there was nothing left but feathers and the mom and dad robin were frantic. Very sad to see. Hopefully the other 2 will stay in the underbrush until they are bigger. I've seen hawks grab small birds before from my yard but never crows. I'm pretty pissed right now. I'm trying to tell myself it's just their nature and they have no control but right now I'm afraid it's in my nature to get my Crossman and shoot any crow I see in my yard. We'll see if the urge passes
 
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#290
#290
larjoranj said:
Bad news. My 3 robins left the nest today. I did not see the first 2 jump but I went outside and could see that 2 were gone from the nest. 1 was hopping around on the ground near the house with mom swooping down on me if I got near. I never saw the second - not sure where it went. The third fluttered down while I was there watching. I had been worried that a drop from 18 feet would hurt them but it flapped furiously as it came down and actually glided about 40 feet before landing. It then hopped very quickly into some nearby underbrush. So the getting down part is apparently no big deal. The bad part is after reaching the ground. The 1 that stayed in the yard hopping around with mom seemed to be the smallest. My wife and I watched for about 30 minutes then she went inside and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. She called me while I was out and said 3 crows had swooped down on the 1 still in the back yard and tore it to pieces. When I got home there was nothing left but feathers and the mom and dad robin were frantic. Very sad to see. Hopefully the other 2 will stay in the underbrush until they are bigger. I've seen hawks grab small birds before from my yard but never crows. I'm pretty pissed right now. I'm trying to tell myself it's just their nature and they have no control but right now I'm afraid it's in my nature to get my Crossman and shoot any crow I see in my yard. We'll see if the urge passes
Click to expand...
I am sorry for the fate of the fledgling but urge you to resist shooting crows.
 
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#291
#291
larjoranj said:
Bad news. My 3 robins left the nest today. I did not see the first 2 jump but I went outside and could see that 2 were gone from the nest. 1 was hopping around on the ground near the house with mom swooping down on me if I got near. I never saw the second - not sure where it went. The third fluttered down while I was there watching. I had been worried that a drop from 18 feet would hurt them but it flapped furiously as it came down and actually glided about 40 feet before landing. It then hopped very quickly into some nearby underbrush. So the getting down part is apparently no big deal. The bad part is after reaching the ground. The 1 that stayed in the yard hopping around with mom seemed to be the smallest. My wife and I watched for about 30 minutes then she went inside and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. She called me while I was out and said 3 crows had swooped down on the 1 still in the back yard and tore it to pieces. When I got home there was nothing left but feathers and the mom and dad robin were frantic. Very sad to see. Hopefully the other 2 will stay in the underbrush until they are bigger. I've seen hawks grab small birds before from my yard but never crows. I'm pretty pissed right now. I'm trying to tell myself it's just their nature and they have no control but right now I'm afraid it's in my nature to get my Crossman and shoot any crow I see in my yard. We'll see if the urge passes
Click to expand...
If you do kill a crow, you can hang him up. You won’t have to worry about anymore hanging around. They’ll leave as long as he’s hanging there. My mother done this every year in her garden. It works
 
#294
#294
VOLSONLY said:
If you do kill a crow, you can hang him up. You won’t have to worry about anymore hanging around. They’ll leave as long as he’s hanging there. My mother done this every year in her garden. It works
Click to expand...
I googled this to see if it works and apparently it does. I even saw a fake dead crow on Amazon with a 4.5 rating and nearly 700 reviews. Reviewers say the thing is amazing. Crows avoid the area like the plague. Maybe I need a fake dead crow
 
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#295
#295
My Carolina Wrens hatched probably 3 or 4 days ago. I was surprised to see the mother AND father help take care of the little ones. I'm trying to help them. Leaving food out etc.. is it a bad idea to drop some earthworms in the nest when parents are gone?
 
#296
#296
SlipKidVol said:
And they are back
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We got a new feeder late summer last year. Results were so-so. We put it out early May and saw a couple around it and then no hummers for two weeks. My wife was in panic mode!!!! We tried the new feeder because the ones we had been using were getting old and the "seats" were falling apart. Wife found some like we had been using and we're pretty sure we had 8 birds this past Wednesday.
We love sitting on our deck and watching them feed just before dusk.....it's a comical circus! Also, it's quite a shock when you're not paying attention and one zips past your head at mach 6... :eek:
 
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#297
#297
I see a few cardinals and I had a couple of big hawks on my roof last week
 
#298
#298
Found a little baby bird dead in my driveway....It didn't seem to have feathers....It must have fallen out of it's nest...It really bothered me...The little guy was just laying there...

Later that day I was going to fix some eggs, but when I looked at the eggs in the carton I just couldn't fix them like I have done a hundred times before...I kept seeing the little bird in my minds eye....

As we get older, all life is so very precious....
 
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#300
#300
Tin Man said:
This morning, I was walking back from the mailbox when a Cooper’s hawk flew low in front of me to prey upon a robin in its nest. The robin escaped, and the hawk stepped up onto a branch, regarded me for a moment, then flew away.
Click to expand...

Cooper got a dove in my backyard recently. He wouldn't leave the kill even as I walked up. I could have put a bucket over him.
 
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